


The Chicken Soup Job

by ladybug218



Category: Leverage
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-02
Updated: 2012-06-02
Packaged: 2017-11-06 14:09:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/419755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladybug218/pseuds/ladybug218
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eliot takes care of Parker. Parker tries to take care of Eliot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Chicken Soup Job

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hollow_echos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollow_echos/gifts).



> Written for hollow_echoes as part of a leverageland challenge

It was one of those jobs where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Hardison got locked out of the mark’s security system, Sophie’s cover was blown and Parker got hurt. Eliot blamed himself for that last one. He had to get out of position to rescue Sophie before the in house security team got her locked up and it left Parker vulnerable when she popped out of the ventilation system. 

Somehow they managed to get out with the files they were after but just barely. When they got back to Nate’s, Eliot determined that Parker had a concussion. Sophie and Hardison tried to convince the thief to go to the hospital to get checked out but she adamantly refused. Nate didn’t push because he understood her aversion to hospitals but he did insist that she not go home alone which led to an argument between Sophie and Hardison about where she should stay. Eliot finally scooped her up in his arms and walked out without saying anything. He figured taking care of Parker for the night would help assuage his guilt over her getting injured in the first place.

“Eliot, I can walk,” she said. “I hurt my head not my feet.”

“I know that, Parker. But this seemed like the most efficient way to get out of there.” Eliot didn’t add that he liked having her close to reassure himself that she was okay. It still baffled him that the quirky blonde had managed to get under his skin so much.

“Do you have cereal?” Parker asked. 

Eliot chuckled. “I’m going to make you my special homemade chicken soup. It’s guaranteed to make you feel better.”

He almost expected an argument from her but she just shrugged. He got her settled in the passenger seat of his truck and they were silent for the short ride to his apartment. He kept sneaking glances to make sure she wasn’t falling asleep or unconscious but she was fiddling with his glove box and amusing herself with the buttons on his radio. When they arrived, he got out of the truck and became concerned after a minute when she didn’t join him. He walked around to the passenger door and opened it. 

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just figured you were gonna carry me again,” she said.

Eliot wondered if he made a mistake by bringing her to his place to look after but he reached up to lift her out of the truck and managed to get the front door open without dropping her or his keys. Once inside, he settled her on the sofa and she immediately reached for the remote to turn on Cartoon Network. He rolled his eyes but didn’t comment on her choice of television, instead heading to the kitchen to start his soup.

As he cooked, he occasionally asked her how she was feeling or she would make a comment about something on the television but they didn’t talk much. It surprised Eliot to realize how comfortable it felt to have her around. After she ate her soup, he gave her some pain killers and told her that he’d be waking her up every two hours to check on her. He offered to let her take the bed, but she declined since the TV was in the living room. 

“Good night, Parker,” he said, tucking the blanket around her. “Wake me up if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Eliot. No one has ever taken care of me like this before.”

That confession was the most vulnerable he had ever seen the thief and he couldn’t resist the urge to bend down and press a kiss to her forehead. When he pulled back, their eyes met and it was obvious she was as confused by his actions as he was. “I’ll always take care of you,” he promised before quickly leaving the room.

The next morning, Parker was fine. Eliot fed her waffles and they watched some more cartoons before she left for her own place. Neither of them mentioned the tender moment they shared the previous night and they didn’t talk or see each other again for a few days since Nate insisted on lying low after the debacle of their last job.

A few weeks later, Eliot had decided that the whole forehead kissing thing was a complete aberration and it seemed like Parker had forgotten about it so he tried to push it to the back of his mind. They were on a new job and this one was going like clockwork for once. They got in, got what they needed and got out without any kind of issue. Nate was congratulating them over the earbuds and Sophie was suggesting they meet up for dinner at McRory’s while Eliot walked to his vehicle. 

He had just inserted the key into the lock when he felt something cold against his back. “Step away from the truck,” a voice hissed in his year. “I don’t want to hurt you. I just want the vehicle.”

“You have a gun pressed at my back because you want my truck?” Eliot repeated, trying his best to ignore the flurry of panic his teammates responded with. 

“That’s right,” the man said. “Let go of the keys and step away from the truck and no one has to get hurt.”

Eliot laughed. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he said, turning quickly to face his attacker, knocking the gun out of the man’s hand and aiming a punch at the guy’s head. The other man wasn’t expecting the attack but recovered quicker than Eliot anticipated and got off a good hit of his own. They grappled for a few more minutes when the sound of an approaching siren scared the guy enough to retrieve his gun and run off. 

“I might have trouble here,” Eliot muttered in to the comms, knowing that if the cops got too interested in him, he could have major issues.

“No you don’t,” Hardison said and the weird echo of the words made Eliot realize that the sirens came from Hardison and Parker, who were pulling up in the non-descript vehicle they were using during the heist. 

“I didn’t think FBI agents usually had sirens in their vehicles,” Eliot remarked.

Hardison grinned. “We’re not FBI agents so we don’t have to play by the rules.”

Nate’s voice broke through on the comms. “Eliot, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little banged up. The guy gave me more of a fight than I was expecting,” the hitter admitted. 

“Why don’t you let Parker drive you home,” Nate suggested. “And we’ll meet up tomorrow to debrief on the job. Get some rest.”

Eliot considered arguing that he was perfectly fine to drive himself but something about Parker’s expression made him stop. She looked concerned and eager to help him but there was something else lurking under the surface that intrigued him enough to agree.

They rode in silence to his place. When they arrived, he said, “If you want to take the truck to your place, you can. I can get it back from you tomorrow.”

Parker frowned. “I was going to stay and take care of you,” she said. “Like you took care of me.”

Something about the tone of her voice kept him from arguing again and he simply nodded. “Okay.” Once they were inside, he said, “I’m going to grab a quick shower. Make yourself at home.”

Fifteen minutes later, when he was clean and dressed in sweats and a wife-beater, he walked into the kitchen to find Parker burning a can of soup. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Trying to make you soup,” she said, almost on the verge of tears. “I ran down to the corner store to buy it. I don’t know what I did wrong.”

He dumped out the saucepan and put it in the sink. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I can make us something to eat.”

“But I’m supposed to be taking care of you!” she protested. “Like you took care of me.”

She was so distraught over her perceived failure to take care of him that he instinctively pulled her into a hug. “Parker, you’re helping just by being here with me,” he said, surprised by how true the words were. 

“I am?” she asked, tilting her head up to meet his eyes. “But how?”

Eliot wasn’t really sure how to answer that question with words so he tilted his face down and very gently pressed his lips against hers. When he pulled back to meet her eyes, she was smiling at him. “You just are,” he said simply, unable to put his feelings in to words.

Parker accepted that and he realized that she probably didn’t have the words to explain her feelings either. That was definitely a conversation they were going to need to have sooner rather than later but Eliot figured it could wait another day or two. “Let’s order Chinese and watch cartoons,” Parker suggested.


End file.
